The Need for Destiny
by TheSealer
Summary: Sequel to NEEDFUL REVOLUTION. Two days have passed since Hitsuyo's defeat. Now Blade and two of his companions have to return to the past to help Negi one last time. The entity of the Second Christ finally revealed! Negi, Asuna, Eve, Blade and Cruz travel through time.
1. One last duty

**THE NEED FOR DESTINY**

**(Bold) -** Author Notes.

"_Italic" - _thoughts.

_Italic and centered_ - transitions.

Underlined – Spells.

_Italic - _Flashback.

_Italic and Underlined__ - _Flashback narrated by characters.

**The final fict of the NeedlessxNegima trilogy. In the end of this, the identity of the Second Christ will be revealed, as his reasons for interfering with the past and why he asked Negi for help. It's been 7 years in the Negima timeline since the **_**The Needless and the Mage**_** and 4 years passed in the Needless timeline.**

**Chapter 1: One last duty**

Negi Springfield, now 17 years old, was back on the Madora Academy after 7 years of travels, adventures and trials. Three years of teaching and learning and four years of wandering alone in search for his father. Recently he had found him. Now the mage was back in Madora to celebrate. His former students had all graduated and were back in school for a celebration.

Negi however was very surprised when the dean Konoe gave him a new letter that had been sent by he who calls himself The Second Christ. This letter, however, had been more disturbing than the two previous others. The mage was now on the roof of the main building of the school, wondering about what the letter implied on his future.

He heard the sound of the door opening and Asuna Kagurazaka and Chamo came into his line of sight.

"What are you doing up here Negi? The party is about to start." – the young woman scolded. Even though she had grown fond of Negi for a long time, she still scolded him when she thought he was doing something stupid.

"I've been thinking about this new letter." – Negi sighed. – "Ever since I've found my father, I've been wondering what I should do. What my destiny is."

"Why do you need a destiny, bro?" – Chamo asked. – "You could just have a normal life. Find a smoking hot girl, like anyone of the class…"

Asuna punched the pervert ermine shut before he could try to corrupt Negi's mind. Not that Negi hadn't become less naïve in the last 7 years.

"The letter I got this morning…it explained everything. I know what I must do and what I must be." – Negi said in a determined intense voice. – "Ever since I've discovered my father, I've been directionless. Wondering what my destiny was. But now I'm like the spear thatthrown from the hand. No hesitation, no doubts. I know the path I must walk."

Asuna and Chamo just stood there, listening. The orange-haired spoke up:

"You dork, why do you think you always have something big and important to accomplish? You're not the center of the Universe, you know. Just because a letter sent by some guy from the future…maybe you should let me read it."

"No!" – Negi said, decided. – "This letter was meant for me and me alone. But there's something you should know. The letter says that our friends from the future are coming."

"Oh, great! Just what we needed." – Asuna growled. Negi laughed at his friends trademark annoyed expression. Chamo grinned; that meant more girls around

"Actually only 3 of them will come. And they won't stay. They have a mission to accomplish. A mission that I must participate. And I was hoping you would come with me." – Negi asked.

"A mission…" – Asuna asked.

"Yeah, there are events in the future that must be corrected for History to play out as it should." – Negi then sighed. – "There's also something else you should know. This mission will be the last time I will ever see you, Chamo or anyone in the class. I can only take one person with me…and I chose you."

"What the heck are you saying?" – Asuna wrangled. – "Of course this won't be the last time we'll see you! Are you back on that all crap of sacrificing your life for…"

"No, I won't die because of this." – Negi said giving a long look at the school around him. – "But I know that I'll never see any of this again. So I'm asking you again: will you come with me?"

Negi's eyes held his old determination and fire; the same they had when he was still 10. Asuna gave him a quick look, before giving in.

"OK, I'll go. After all, you'll need someone to stop you from doing something stupid." – she said with a teasing smile. Negi ignored that and went downstairs with her.

"Come on, let's go. Since I'll be gone soon, this celebration has become a goodbye party."

_In another time…_

"You sure you weren't having a hallucination?" – Eve asked. Blade had just told her about the message the giant tree in the Black Spot gave him, two days before.

"Yeah I'm sure. It said if I wanna have my Zero Fragment back, I was to be here with two other people to go on a mission or some crap like that. Now you stay here until I get back." – Blade said turning tail and leaving.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"To go find the third guy. And I think I know where to find him. Dean Drive: Fox Hound!" – Blade ran to the nearest city where and searched every bar until he found the one he was looking for.

Ever since Cruz had wiped out every other Needless, things were quieter than never in the Black Spot. Though there were always thugs here and there, and even though they had no powers, they were still a menace to ordinary people.

The bar in question was filled with such ordinary people. Blade spotted a young relatively short customer sitting at the counter of the bar. This one was covered with a cloak and smelled intensely to alcohol. The cloaked figure noticed Blade eyeing him.

"You smell like cheap liquor and bitter defeat, Yamada." – Blade said.

"What did you expected from someone who had been bitterly defeated?" – the green-haired, blue-eyed 17-year-old replied neutrally. He kept his face hidden under the cloak.

"Where's No-Pantie-Skankie?" – Blade asked.

"Who?"

"Your sis."

"We split up a day ago. We both decided if we stick together it would end badly. That's what happened the last time. I offered to return her Fragment but she didn't accept it. So I gave her the Testament. She was planning to travel to a far desert corner of the Black Spot." – Cruz said in a slow voice. He turned to the barman and handed him his empty glass. – "Another one."

"No can do pal, it's a miracle you haven't past out yet. You've had 20 glasses of liquor. You already got enough." – the barman refused , which apparently only upset Cruz even more.

"Hey, I didn't ask your opinion, geezer. I'm paying for that liquor, aren't I?" – Cruz's reply made the barman frown but he conceded and filled the teenager's glass with alcohol, again. Cruz handed the barman a coin.

"Where did you get the loot to pay for that?" – Blade asked.

"Aruka and I stashed our Testament with a few supplies." – Cruz said but didn't elaborate. – "I know why you're here. I may be drunk but I can think rationally. You're here to _invite_ to join you in your adventure to the past so you can recover your Fragment. Well count me out."

"I figured you would answer that. So what are you planning on doing, hu? Spend all your money in drinking?" – Blade questioned.

"Close to that. I'm gonna drink myself to death." – Cruz finished emptying his glass and asked the barman for another.

"Look, kid I tolerated you so far but there's no way I'm gonna sell yah another drop. I don't wanna costumers getting out of me bar drunk. It ruins business."

"Now you listen, pall!" – Cruz groaned, taking off his cloak in the process. Blade finally saw his red cheeks, glowing and semi-closed eyes. – "I'll only be drunk when I start doing crazy stuff like this!"

Cruz raised from his seat with sloppy movements and stood in the counter, taking a bottle of rum from the barman's hand. He shouted to the other costumers.

"Everyone listen to me! You know who I am? I'm Hitsuyō! The guy who has been abducting and eliminating all Needlesses in the Black Spot. That's right, ME!" – Cruz continued in his shouting stupor. – "I'm the creep that took away the Fragments of some of you ex-Needless. You wanna get back for that? Well, I'm right here or doesn't any of you has the guts put down the guy who stole your powers, hu?!"

With that Cruz took the bottle of rum to his mouth but after the first swig of the alcohol he puked wildly. Blade had to stand back to avoid having the vomit over his leather jacket.

"Oh, shit Yamada!" – Blade growled once Cruz finished emptying the contents of his stomach. Cruz immediately past out. Everyone just stared at the unconscious green-haired body lying on his own vomit. One by one, they all returned to their drinks like nothing had happened.

"Stupid kid, who told him to drink that much?" – some murmured.

"He's so drunk he thinsk he's someone else."

"There's no way a little shit like that could be that demon Hitsuyō."

The barman was the only one who hadn't relaxed after Cruz past out. He began wrangling about 'who's gonna pay for that bottle of rum and the cleaning?!'.

"Here, take this." – Blade gave the barman the money to pay for the damage and left, dragging the out cold Cruz Schild with him.

"_You're gonna have one of those hangovers when you wake up._" – Blade muttered in his mind. – "_And you're gonna need a bath too."_

**For Cruz's fans, I'm sorry he had to go through that, but I've been there, too. Once I tried to **_**escape**_** from a 'bitter defeat' with alcohol. I wind up kind like Cruz.**


	2. Hello and goodbye

**THE NEED FOR DESTINY**

**(Bold) -** Author Notes.

"_Italic" - _thoughts.

_Italic and centered_ - transitions.

Underlined – Spells.

_Italic - _Flashback.

_Italic and Underlined__ - _Flashback narrated by characters.

**The final fict of the NeedlessxNegima trilogy. In the end of this, the identity of the Second Christ will be revealed, as his reasons for interfering with the past and why he asked Negi for help.**

**Chapter 2: Hello and Goodbye**

**Challenge request: **

**Option A) Who wants Cruz to let go of his anger and go back to his old self? If he lets go of his hate, he'll return to the Blackspot.**

**Option B) And who wants him to keep going after his ambitions to rid the world of Needless? If he keeps on his quest, I may leave him in the Negima! timeline, so he can change the timeline to prevent Needless from existing.**

Adam Blade, Eve Neushwanstein and Cruz Schild walked from the World Tree at Madora. The three Needless met Negi and Asuna. The young woman gave them the most welcoming smile she could muster, though she showed a meaningful warning-look to Blade. It had been 7 years since she had seen him, but Asuna still didn't trust the perv. Eve hadn't change much, except the part of having grown a little taller.

It took her a moment to understand the third person was Cruz. Though this Cruz didn't seem like the one she remembered. Not for the fact of being older. He looked worse for wear. He gave off a toxic smell of alcohol. His hair was a mess and so were his clothes.

"Yo, Cruz. You grew up." – Eve greeted. The mage sheepishly smiled and sweatdropped.

"It's Negi."

"Yo, Chamo. Long time no see, hu?" – Blade greeted with both hands clenched and joined in the middle of his chest. Chamo greeted back in the same fashion.

"What's that?" – Negi inquired.

"It's the secret perv greeting." – Chamo answered.

"If it's so _secret_ then why did you guys just showed it to us?" – Cruz asked, rolling his eyes.

"Damn it!" – the priest and ermine cursed. Cruz just turned around and walked away.

"Hey, where are you going?" – Eve hissed.

"I don't have to stick around with _you_." – Cruz answered bitterly. – "I didn't come on this voyage because I wanted. I came because someone dragged me here."

"Oh, fine! Run away! That's what you always did best." – Eve groaned. Asuna just watched the whole scene silently.

"What's his problem?" – Asuna asked. While Cruz went somewhere else, Blade and Eve accompanied Negi and Asuna. During that time, Blade and Eve filled their hosts on what they had done.

"So, that little twerp only wanted Evangeline to teach him so he could go all 'Holocaust' on you?"

"Pretty much, yeah." – Blade answered, matter-of-factly.

"And Evangeline knew of all that?" – Asuna probed.

"Yep, he told us so." – Blade confirmed. Asuna was about to scowl about Evangeline when she saw Negi hadn't said a word before the revelation of Cruz's activities.

"You look pretty calm, you know?"

"I already knew all of that. Evangeline told me why Cruz asked to be her disciple a few days after they" – he indicated Blade and Eve. – "left to their own time."

"If you ask me, I'm not surprised. If I was Cruz, I would have done the same. Let's not forget that he only took away the powers of the Needless he persecuted. He didn't really caused an all-out genocide." – Negi finished in a thoughtful tone. Blade gave him a sideways look. Negi put on his trademark smile again.

"Come on, the party is about to start."

_With Cruz…_

Chachamaru opened the door and saw Cruz Schild standing at the entrance.

"Hello, Chachamaru. Is Evangeline-sama home?"

"Yes, she's up stairs." – Chachamaru stepped aside so Cruz could come in. – "Oh, just one thing…"

Chachamaru's arms transformed; one into a big comb and the other into a giant brush. Her chest opened and a big hose of water, a small hand holding soap and another small hand holding a dryercame out.

"Wha-What's that for?" – Cruz inquired. Chachamaru began 'attacking' Cruz with her tools, first taking off his clothes, next giving him the fastest, most complex bath of his live, and finally dressing him up again. All in less than one minute!

"What the hell was that for?" – Cruz protested, his whole body now glittering.

"Master doesn't like having dirty people at home." – Chachamaru responded neutrally.

"Well, I was needing that, anyway." – Cruz shrugged and walked up stairs to his old teacher's room. Evangeline was sitting in her bed, wearing her pajamas along with a pair of knee-socks.

"Back again, apprentice? How long it took you to fail your quest?" – she had known from the beginning that Cruz would fail in his attempt to wipe out Needless.

"Master, I need your help. There's something I need you to teach me…" – Cruz said.

_Back with the guys…_

Blade and Eve stood in the sidelines of the party. Both just watched from the distance. Negi seemed to be having the time of his life, but Asuna could see a sense of nostalgia coming from him.

Negi had said this was also a goodbye party. However, he didn't tell anyone about that.

_Back with Cruz…_

"Giving up your humanity?" – Evangeline asked, confused.

"Yes, that's what I want." – Cruz said.

"I thought _despair_ was your weapon. If don't have humanity, how can you know despair?" – Evangeline inquired.

"I no longer rely on despair. From now on, I only care about fulfilling my mission no matter the cost. I lost because I let my emotions get the best of me. It was my heart that prevented me from winning, because…"

"Because you were still attached to those little freaks you used to call friends, hu?" – Evangeline smirked. – "I already knew from the beginning you would fail in your _quest_. Instead of focusing your strength against your real enemy, you attacked those who actually cared for you and turned them against you. That was a pretty stupid move."

"But…you always said that if we don't make a few enemies, we would grow to be cowards. I tried but failed because my _heart_ didn't want to do it." – Cruz countered.

"For a smart guy, you can be really stupid when it comes to know other people. The difference between you and me is that I know who my enemy is. You, on the other hand, are in the middle of a crisis. Your mind tells you your enemy is every other Needless. Your heart, however, says that Blade and all the others are your friends." – Evangeline said in an odd tone. She wasn't very used to talk about feelings like that. – "I won't teach you anything else. If you want my opinion, just let it go. After all, if what you told me is right, your former-friends are the only Needlesses left. There's no point going after them."

Cruz just stood there, listening. Evangeline could see those words hadn't sink in, so she snapped her fingers and a man-size mirror appeared a few feet behind Cruz. The frame of mirror was decorated with images of demons and the Latin words _adtendite me et umbram tuam_. Cruz looked at it and saw nothing but two undistinguishable shadows where he and Evangeline should be.

"This is the Mirror of the Foe. Instead of your own reflection, you see the one of your enemy." – Evangeline got off her bed and walked towards the mirror. As she approached the reflecting wall, her shadow became more and more defined. When she was just a few centimeters from it, her reflection cleared into that of an old man with red eyes. – "Why don't you come a little closer?"

For a moment, Cruz felt like he was walking to the gallows. He slowly walked to the mirror and his shadow became more defined with each step. Green hair, blue-eyes, thin…Cruz saw his own reflection in the Mirror of the Foe. No Arclight, no Blade, no Needless but himself! Evangeline snapped her fingers again and the Mirror of the Foe vanished.

"Go, you need time alone with your thoughts." – Evangeline muttered. – "And if you ever tell anyone about our little conversation, I'll hunt you down and castrate you, myself."

Cruz didn't say a word as he left. He didn't need to.

**Sorry if this was short and OC, I'm losing the interest in this fict. But don't worry. This one is almost done and it will be the last Needless or Negima I'll ever write.**


	3. Between time

**THE NEED FOR DESTINY**

**(Bold) -** Author Notes.

"_Italic" - _thoughts.

_Italic and centered_ - transitions.

**The final fict of the NeedlessxNegima trilogy. In the end of this, the identity of the Second Christ will be revealed, as his reasons for interfering with the past and why he asked Negi for help.**

**Chapter 3: Between Time**

In the next morning, everyone was gathered at the World Tree. By everyone, that was Asuna, Negi, Blade and Eve.

"Where's Yamada?" – Blade asked.

"Right behind you." – as if summoned, Cruz showed up behind the priest.

"You're actually coming?" – Eve asked, not really caring. Cruz didn't answer.

"So, we're all set to go?" – Cruz asked. They all were waiting for Negi to do whatever he was supposed to do. However, the mage was instead looking at the school.

"Negi…" – Asuna sighed. The boy stood like that for a few more seconds, before turning back to his group.

"Just wanted to look at it for one last time." – Negi whispered. – "Alright, let's go. _Pontem de saeculis!_ **(1)**"

A vortex of white light appeared in the tree's trunk and it swallowed the whole group. For a second they were in a complete white universe. Next, they were in the outskirts of a rather wealthy urban zone. Most of the city was down north, while they were facing three buildings displayed in a row. The central building which was the tallest had the letters AP on the top. Blade was the first to recognize the place.

"Wait a sec, I remember this!"

"This is the Adam Project HQ!" – Cruz exclaimed.

"The what?" – Eve asked stupidly causing both male Needless to fell anime style.

"The one we saw in Arclight's and Blade's memories, you brainless bitch!" – Cruz spat, furious. Blade gave him a bump in the head.

"What your tongue, shrimp!" – Blade muttered, then he added in his mind. – "_Even though she's really brainless."_

"The time is 3rd January 2113. The day when AO-001 test subject was going to be injected with Eden Seed." – Negi explained, before the puzzled looks of his companions. – "The Second's letter said so. You see, the truth is, the project was supposed to be a success with their first subject. And that is what we have to make sure doesn't happen."

Asuna who was still trying to digest the whole thing began babbling:

"Wow, wait! So that's the mission? To screw with the future, so that the far future plays out as they know it!"

"Pretty much, yes." – Negi responded. He waved with his staff again. The scenario changed and now they were in the lab of the same building. There were dozens of scientists looking at a tube filled with liquid. Inside the tube was a human boy, bald and naked, floating. Several large plastic tubes were attached to his back. The boy's body parts seemed to be attached to each other as if someone had sewed them together. That fact didn't go unnoticed to Asuna, who turned to Blade, visibly crept out.

"I knew you were a clone, but I never thought you were a Frankenstein-clone."

"Why haven't any of the scientists noticed us?" – Cruz inquired.

"We're not really a part of this time. We can only interfere at a certain level." – Negi explained.

"But if that's true, how come you could see us when _we_ went to _your_ time?" – Blade asked Negi, referring to himself, Eve and Cruz.

"Because you were meant to be there." – Negi gave no further explanation. He indicated the AO-001 clone.

"We have to destroy that clone." – upon hearing Negi's words, Blade grinned and cracked his fingers, anxious for some action. He pouted when Negi spoke again. – "But we have to make it look like it was their failure."

"Never lemme have any fun." – the priest muttered.

"Eve, can you use your doppelganger to create a tumor in the clone?" – Negi asked.

"Only if I could touch him." – Eve said. Cruz touched her in the shoulder.

"Do it." – Cruz said.

"But I told you…" – she countered.

"Just try it."

Eve sighed and did as he said. She concentrated in the mass of the clone and tried to force the cells in the brain to multiply explosively. To her surprise, it worked! It was as if something was canalizing her will to the clone's body. Soon the head grew and the body exploded, much to the dismay and disappointment of the scientists.

"Good job, Eve." – Blade complimented.

"But I…" – Eve said; she couldn't understand how she had done it. Negi, however, interrupted her line of thought.

"Ok, we're done with this one. Only 77 more to go." – Negi said.

"What?! I have to do this 77 more time?" – Eve gasped.

_After those 77 more times…_

After Eve was done doing the same to the right eye and heart of clone AO-078 (Arclight), the group reappeared in the basement where the remains of the Second Christ were hidden.

Blade was on his way to stop Arclight. For what it seemed, the boy in a good lead to prevent the mutated enemy from touching the remains.

"Blade, do you remember anything strange that happened what during your chase? Any accident?" – Negi questioned. Blade tried to remember.

"Well, yeah. When I was chasing him, the ceiling started to fall over me. That stalled me enough for the s.o.b. to get the Second's remains." – Blade said.

"You mean, like this?" – Negi waved with his staff and the ceiling above young Blade fell. The young boy avoided the falling pieces of metal and concrete with ease but he lost precious time and Arclight got ahead of him.

"So it was you!" – Blade said in a surprised, almost enraged, tone.

"Yes, I…"

"AAAARRRGGHHHH!" – Cruz gave a deranged roar. He run towards Negi and tried to attack him with his mind. – "You bastard! Because of you Arclight exists! You ruined my life!"

"Hey! What's with you?!" – Asuna was the first to stop Cruz by slapping him with her harisen artifact.

"That bastard Arclight ruined my life! And _he_" – Cruz pointed accusatorily to Negi. – "was the one that helped him get there!"

"I had to do it. I had no choice."

"Besides, he didn't ruin your live. Your father did." – Blade spoke. – "And then you did the same to yourself."

Cruz groaned as he let go of Negi under the watchful eye of Asuna. Right now, Arclight had just touched the Second's face and the Reverse Rejection Reaction began.

"You have to get out of here. The explosion is about to happen!" – Negi said.

"You said we can't be affected by the events of the past." – Eve said.

"The Reverse Rejection Reaction distorts space and time. You guys have to get out of here." – Negi said.

"What about you?" – Blade and Asuna asked. Negi didn't answer. Instead he just jumped with were the mass was growing.

"Negi, you stupid!"

"It's gonna blow!" – Blade called out. Eve, acting partly by instinct, created the same wings-shield to protect the whole group. Everything around them was blown sky high in a brilliant light.

When the dust settled, Blade and company were still in one piece, protected by the energy shield. No so far, they spotted Negi, holding his staff. He seemed to be intact and alright.

**( 1 ) – It's Latin for 'Bridge of the ages!'**

**I know the chapters are getting shorter and less complex. But to tell you the truth, my interest in this fict is close to discontinue it. That's why I'm speeding things up. Though I promise the great surprise hasn't changed. Only two more chapters to go.**


	4. Ending and beginning

**THE NEED FOR DESTINY**

**(Bold) -** Author Notes.

"_Italic" - _thoughts.

"Underlined_" – _speaking in English rather than in Japanese.

_Italic and centered_ - transitions.

**This is it! The chapter that explains EVERYTHING! Also Negi reveals which girl of his class he saw more than a friend or a partner.**

**Chapter 4: Ending and beginning**

The group had just met up with Negi. However, to their astonishing surprise, the 17-year-old mage had suffered a complete transformation. He was taller, his hair was now light-blue and his eyes were blood-red. In fact, he looked pretty much like…

"Blade?!" – Eve gasped. Negi was now a teenage version of Blade.

"Ok, can somebody tell me what's going on here before I start beating the crap out of everyone?" – Blade demanded.

"The explosion has altered my physical make up, somehow. I knew this would have happened; it was a one in a million chance, though." – Negi said. Then he lighted up a flame in his finger. – "My powers, however, haven't changed."

"You stupid!" – Asuna punched Negi in the face with a not-so-surprising force. Everyone there already knew how insanely strong she was. Negi recomposed himself, startled. – "You trusted a letter sent from some unknown creepy guy from the future to stand in the way of an explosion!? You could have been killed!"

"Sorry, Asuna…but he can be trusted." – Negi supported.

"How can you be so sure?" – Asuna probed.

"He told me a secret only I knew." – Negi answered, though the three Needlesses didn't understand.

"What secret?" – she asked in English too.

"Which girl from the class I saw more than a friend or a partner." – Negi gave no further answer. Asuna felt slightly tempted to ask who it was. Blade, Cruz and Eve watched as the whole conversation was exchanged without understanding what it meant.

Negi casted the time-travel spell again and they returned to the white scenario between times. Two doorways opened. One led back to Madora of their time. The other led to Madora in 2100.

"This is it." – Negi said. – "You'll return to Madora's time. Next, a new portal will open in the tree and take you to the Blackspot. Goodbye."

Negi turned away, leaving for his destiny. He didn't want to see Asuna again. He knew he might feel tempted to ignore his destiny if he did so.

"Wait, so that's it? I never even got the chance to break someone's jaw!" – Blade scolded.

"Where are you going anyway?" – Cruz asked. Negi turned back to them.

"We had to do all of this because it was meant to happen. Even my appearance changing. Didn't you always wonder about how Asuna's magic cancel powers worked on Fragments?" – Negi said. – "Also the same reason why the Second knows the secret I never told anyone."

"Negi…" – Asuna said. Negi turned to her and gave her a small paper. Without a word, he passed through the gate. The four of them were sucked into the doorway leading to Madora. It was noon and everything seemed quiet.

"What did he mean by that crap about 'meant to happen'?" – Blade questioned. Cruz's mind was analyzing the facts, until he came to an answer.

"That's it!" – Cruz shouted in realization. Everyone gave him strange looks. – "I figured it out."

"Then you might want to explain." – Eve muttered.

"Negi receiving letter from the Second about how things were supposed to play out and what Negi's biggest secret was. The Second Christ only knew all of that because he and Negi are one and the same!"

"The World Tree that exists in the Blackspot is the same that is here in Madora. The Second sent messages to Negi about things that would happen to him, because it had already happened to the Second before. Also, the fragments of the Second could have been spells… If our fragments are some sort of variant of spells that explains how Asuna was able to cancel them, like when she beat Blade to a pulp. I remember that Disk detected Eden Seed in Negi's blood, a substance that only exists in Needlesses. She also took samples from other wizards in this school and found Eden Seed in their blood too. Negi's powers were transferred into Needless when he died. Therefore, Needlesses are a variant of wizards!"

"It all makes sense. That's also why Negi survived the Reverse Rejection Reaction and had his DNA changed into the Second's. It was all meant to happen so he would look just like the Second, go into the future before the war, help Japan rebuild and then been…" – Cruz stopped in his tracks when he remembered Asuna was there too. He was about to say 'killed' but he quickly changed into. – "…cloned by the Adam Project. And so Blade and Arclight were born."

"Wow, that makes much more sense than my theory." – Eve said.

"I'm not even going to dare asking what that theory was." – Cruz gulped. A new time portal opened at the tree's roots. They could see the Blackspot in the other end.

"Well, guess that's our stop. So, bye-bye!" – Blade jumped promptly into the vortex, Eve followed suite.

"Wait." – Asuna said and Cruz stopped in his tracks. – "What really happened to Negi…the Second. How did he die?"

"Well…he was…" – Cruz didn't feel like telling the truth; Asuna was friendly enough for him, the first time he got there.

"He was killed by the people he helped, wasn't he?" – Asuna guesses. Cruz simply sighed and nodded before walking through the gate. The portal closed and Asuna was left alone, sad. She looked at the paper Negi gave her, which had three words in English:

'It was you.'

_Back in the Blackspot…_

Cruz, Eve and Blade came through the vortex of light in the World Tree in the wasteland that was their home. The doorway closed behind them.

"Guess we're done." – Eve grinned.

"About time. I was getting sick of the past." – Blade said. He then noticed Cruz was silent. – "Say Yamada, why didn't you stick in the past? You could have re-write history so that Needless would never exist, or some crap like that."

"I really don't know why." – Cruz responded, thoughtful.

"Speaking about it, why did you help me using my Doppelganger on the clones?" – Eve asked.

"What do you mean?" – Cruz inquired.

"Don't play with me. You touched my shoulder whenever I used my fragment. You were helping my power to reach the clones, weren't you?" – Eve grinned. Cruz just pouted, not bothering to answer.

"Shit!" – Blade shouted, making the other two jump. – "I didn't get my Zero fragment back! That bastard tricked me!"

"Oh, yeah. That's right." – Eve recalled the Second (aka Negi) had promised Blade to return his fragment if he went back to the past this time. Cruz just sighed and snaps his fingers. Blade felt a major headache for a second.

"Err! The hell was that?" – Blade groaned.

"I took out the neural block. You have your fragment back." – Cruz said in a neutral tone.

"Oh, yeah? And I guess the motive you did that has nothing to do why you helped Eve, hu?" – Blade gave him a knowing smirk which Cruz ignored. – "Then just for a test."

Blade quickly grabbed Cruz by his neck and joined his forehead with his own in a head-butt.

"Learn it!" – Blade roared in triumph. Before he had only copied a part of Cruz's power but now he had it fully copied.

"You really are a bastard, you know that?" – Cruz protested, massaging his forehead.

_In the year 2100…_

Negi was at the World Tree. It was actually hard to imagine that Madora was still intact after 100 years. The young mage was discreetly casting spells into the tree, making powerful enough to survive the nuclear disaster he knew was coming.

In less than 10 years, that city, including Madora, would become the future Blackspot. Only the World Tree would survive. Negi also enchanted the tree to give the messages to Blade and companions and take them through time when it was needed. Now every piece was in place.

His adventure as the Son of the Thousand Master has ended. A new beginning starts now as Negi will be soon known as The Second Christ.

**Du-dun! This is the surprise behind everything! Negi was meant to go to the future so he would begin his role as the Second Christ. The entity of the original Needless is revealed as is the connection between Fragments and magic.**


	5. Epilogue

**THE NEED FOR DESTINY**

**(Bold) -** Author Notes.

"_Italic" - _thoughts.

"Underlined_" – _speaking in English rather than in Japanese.

_Italic and centered_ - transitions.

**Chapter 5: Epilogue**

_New formed Blackspot, year 2112…_

The recently scorched land still had remnant signs of radioactivity, but Negi wasn't worried about it. His powers were more than enough to protect him from the harmful radiation. He was now 29 years old and was wandering through the Blackspot until he found a small family of refugees. A young girl, who had her face burned, a man with a crippled leg and a woman who seemed to be unharmed.

"There, there, sweetie. The pain will pass." – the woman, most likely mother, washed her daughter's injury with a wet cloth. Negi approached them and the man, probably the father, quickly became wary. He tried to stand up but his crippled leg wouldn't let him.

"What do you want?" – the man asked in an aggressive, wary tone. Negi turned to him and gave him a hand to help him get up.

"Walk." – Negi said.

"But I can't…"

"Walk." – Negi repeated and the man decided to take his hand. When Negi helped him stand on his two feet, the crippled leg was cured.

"Hey, I can walk!" – the man shouted, bewildered. The little girl looked at the stranger and the stranger at her. Negi smiled and touch the young girl's face.

"Be healed." – just like that, the girl's burnt injury disappeared. The two adults stared incredulous to the miracle-maker.

"You…are you… Chirst?" – the man asked.

**THE END**


End file.
